Bal Harbour

PHOTOS COURTESY OF BALMAIN spoke about his original goal to make Balmain a household name. He explains that his signature social media vulnerability and celebrity collaborations with friends were not a liability, but rather the formula Rousteing used to raise the label to international prominence. Now, Balmain is a part of the pop vernacular—appearing in film and music as a luxury reference. "When I started at Balmain 10 years ago, many people didn't know the name Balmain," Rousteing explains. "Now my 11-year-old cousin knows—even without our relation. If you listen to music, Balmain is in the air." This September, Rousteing celebrates the leaps and bounds he's taken within the brand with the SS22 collection (and a big party that was still under wraps when we spoke). He hinted that the collection itself would take a surprisingly retrospective approach looking back at some of the standout garments the designer has put out. Examining one's history is a new luxury that Rousteing has been reveling in. After six or seven years at the helm, he tells me that he began to feel free to explore emotional content that wasn't solely protective. As a result his armor-like silhouettes have softened with time, creating a sense of nuance that was not detectable in the first years. His aviation inspired Fall 2021 collection, which starred Charlotte Stockdale and Katie Lyall as flight attendants, blurred the rough edges of his embellished utilitarianism with candy-colored knits and padding. Post- Covid travel was a big inspiration for the designs but also acted as an homage to the designer's own recent whirlwind adventure filming Wonder Boy, a documentary that followed Rousteing on his journey to find his birth parents. Rousteing mentions that his experience filming Wonder Boy helped him access a new level of vulnerability that can be sensed in the clothes. Like his plunge into creative directorship, Wonder Boy showcases the bravery with which Rousteing approaches the world but also his current interest in self-reflection that is perhaps more organic to one's thirties than their twenties. The Balmain Army he's cultivated over the past decade is now ready to be schooled on their heritage. "I started Balmain by almost being a warrior or, you know, a fighter," Rousteing says. "I think it's time that people knew this is a brand that started in 1945 and I'm just one chapter of it." The SS22 collection promises to bring all the glamour and tenacity of Rousteing's first decade together with where he is now—comfortably ensconced amongst a constellation of stars he helped create. "I think it's time that people knew this is a BRAND that started in 1945 and I'm just one CHAPTER of it." —Olivier Rousteing BAL HARBOUR 183

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